PA PA - Ray Gricar, 59, Bellefonte, 15 April 2005 - #6

[Kiln Wood]

Yes. When LE first opened the door, they smelled smoke. On the passenger side, there was a trace about of ask on the floor. It was like a tiny piece that fell off, not like someone flicked an ask.

One old girlfriend, who resembled the general description of the Mystery Woman, was known to be a smoker; that was the "Harrisburg Woman." She supposedly visiting friends on Long Island at the time. I do think that LE should recheck that.

Here is the kicker. On 4/18/05, two people are positive that they saw RFG in a restaurant/bar, possibly a Bennigan's, in Wilkes Barre. The guy was wearing a suit and talked about his favorite ball team, the Indians. He was smoking. (They are sure it was him; I'm not sure, but I think it about 70% likely.)

One of the witnesses was the bartender; the other was a police officer from SE Pennsylvania. The officer, who was something beyond an ordinary patrolman, talked with him for about 5 minutes, just about sports. He noticed something. The guy was not an experienced smoker; he was holding the cigarette clumsily, according to the officer.

Both witnesses had no contact with each other; the officer say the story on the news a few days later, recognized RFG, and called LE. LE kept a lid on the story that it was a cop until 2008.

BBM

Thanks, JJ!

Referring to the part I placed in bold letters, have you any idea what's behind the witness not being identified as a cop? By the way, do you know if any law enforcement agencies other than local, county, or state were ever called in or consulted? If so, are you familiar with what transpired?

 

[cloudbuster05]

RFG had a passport, and traveled out of the country previously. The passport was unused. At the time, a passport was not needed to enter Canada, however.

Now he is in Canada just to restart working from age 59 on because he loves to start over to build a new pension? He only had to wait 8 months to retire but instead he chose to enter the work arena to rebuild what he lost by vanishing.
Correction, he could of retired effective immediately and left with his pension and healthcare. He wasn't married so why not just do the vanishing act in such a way so he wouldn't need to work and have healthcare? :banghead:

 

[cloudbuster05]

Some criminals are smart, but most are stupid. Mr. Gricar is a smart man, I think he could smell a rat if one was trying to set him up. It looks like just maybe -- he was sick of everything and got out. He would not be the first. He seems like a nice person, but maybe he got to that point where he felt he had to salvage his life, so to speak. Not that he had a bad life, in fact, it looked very pleasant. But, he knew retirement was fast approaching, and maybe he didn't like what he saw coming after that (?) So he exited stage right in the smoothest way possible (for him). What do you do when you no longer find joy in the way you've been living and feel desperate for something to change --

If your desperate for change you could retire right then and there so you'd have your life long pension and insurance in hand. Then you could ride off with new plans.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Now he is in Canada just to restart working from age 59 on because he loves to start over to build a new pension? He only had to wait 8 months to retire but instead he chose to enter the work arena to rebuild what he lost by vanishing.
Correction, he could of retired effective immediately and left with his pension and healthcare. He wasn't married so why not just do the vanishing act in such a way so he wouldn't need to work and have healthcare? :banghead:

As pointed out, he may not need to work.

Basically, he only had to work for another 8 1/2 so his daughter would not get his pension.

Ironically, if RFG had retired, as announce, in January 2006, and died 2-3 months later, his daughter would not inherit any of it.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

BBM

Thanks, JJ!

Referring to the part I placed in bold letters, have you any idea what's behind the witness not being identified as a cop? By the way, do you know if any law enforcement agencies other than local, county, or state were ever called in or consulted? If so, are you familiar with what transpired?

Consulted, yes. The FBI has been involved.

There are indications of interest from Treasury and Homeland Security (both deal with money transfers).

The 4/18 sighting was considered "credible," but even at the time, mst of the details were not given. The Mystery Woman was not released, initially. It was months afterward that this detail trickled out.

Initially, they didn't want anything out that pointed to walkaway. It might have been "legacy protection," and everyone thought it was suicide.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

His daughter had to go through years of emotional pain and the legal and aggravation of having a parent declared dead, in order to collect RG's pension. All he had to do was finish out his term or just resign and collect the pension. Then he would have had what he earned to either use or give away. Let me say, in the strongest possible terms, that anyone who isn't WEALTHY (as in having inherited money) and who is pushing 60 would be foolish at best and stupid at the least to walk away from a secure retirement. And no public employee could squirrel enough away to guarantee what Social Security and medicare offer in (let's face it) old age. I don't know how old any of you guys are, but I am just a few years younger than RG and I know NO ONE who would walk away from a pension when there was NO NEED to do so. He could quit, retire early, whatever. He could quit and walk away from everyone but have some hedge against ending up some day in the worst sort of nursing home. RG did not appear to be this crazy or stupid. And he doesn't strike me as a narcissistic monster who would walk away and
leave his daughter with a lifetime of heartache. That would be selfishness beyond the understanding of most parents and out of charactwr for someone who was apparently a loving and engaged father.

As to evidence of foul play, the car was found abandoned and RG had disappeared. There doesn't have to be blood in the car; we don't know where he was killed. When people disappear and leave everything behind, that is evidence that something is very, very wrong. RG is gone. We have no indication from cell phone, computers, security cameras, use of ss#, contact with family and friends, photographs, or financial transactions that RG is alive. By now, RG would be eligible for full Social Security and Medicare; there is no sign that he has applied. So has he in his mid-60s decided to work at some menial job at low pay in a terrible recession,
make do late in life with little or no health insurance? Because that is what he would have to do to start over without drawing on his real name, his SS#, the resume he had built over a lifetime and recommendations. And are we supposed to presume that this man who upheld the law for years would want to not retire and travel but rather eke out a marginal living until he could no longer work at all, and to do so by assuming some false indentity and essentially spending the rest of his life living on the wrong side of the law (fake ID, working under the table, forcing his former jurisdiction to spend time and money on an investigation)? The evidence, as I see it, is that it is out of character for this man approaching retirement, with a life spent upholding the law and taking care of his daughter, to stage a disappearance when
there was no need to do so. So as in most cases where a car turns up abandoned in an unusual place and its driver/owner has disappeared, that is evidence of foul play if there is no evidence of walking away. Which there is not.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

His daughter had to go through years of emotional pain and the legal and aggravation of having a parent declared dead, in order to collect RG's pension. All he had to do was finish out his term or just resign and collect the pension.

You don't understand. LG would have gotten nothing from the pension had RFG started collecting it. The legal aspect ended up to be quite minor. She had to be in court twice in six years; the second time, she literally phoned it in.

And no public employee could squirrel enough away to guarantee what Social Security and medicare offer in (let's face it) old age.

Here is RFG's salary at 2 year increments; it is published, so I'm not revealing anything secret.

1999 - 108,898

2001 - 116,172

2003 - 120,000

2005 - 123,832

He grossed over $500,000, just in salary, from 2001 (after his divorce) until he disappeared.

After 2001, he had minimal expenses, except taxes. This does not include any outside income, like interest from a bank account. It also does not include sale of assets, and there were assets disposed of in his 2000-01 divorce. I think that that there was a small increase in the even numbered years.

That would be selfishness beyond the understanding of most parents and out of charactwr for someone who was apparently a loving and engaged father.

I certainly would not call a $300,000+ pension, plus $100,000+ in the bank that his daughter will receive "selfish."

As to evidence of foul play, the car was found abandoned and RG had disappeared. There doesn't have to be blood in the car; we don't know where he was killed. When people disappear and leave everything behind, that is evidence that something is very, very wrong. RG is gone.

No blood, no evidence of a struggle, evidence that RFG was there (physical and eye witness). The car was in a public place familiar to RFG, a safe place, and there is evidence that RFG was planning to to go to that location.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

JJ, do you have kids? I was not writing about money when I wrote of "selfishness"; I was referring to how selfish it would be for RG to disappear without a trace and leave a loved one with all the pain, doubt and suffering that would result. What kind of parent would do that to a child? A selfish one. And there is no evidence that RG was that kind of parent.

While the paperwork might seem trivial, involving only one or two trip to relevant offices, the matter of asking to have a missing loved one declared dead would be agonizing for most people, involving terrible and perhaps guilt-inducing questions: How long should I wait? Am I giving up to soon? What if he turns up and find out I gave up on him? And so on. Even closing a parent's estate in the normal way, when parent has lived out a normal lifespan is a sad and painful activity, as I know, having done it twice. So I would not give RG a pass if he engineered a disappearance and left his daughter to face all of this heartache.

RG's salary is about what I would expect. While a divorce might have led to splitting assets (and therefore some liquidation), divorce also makes assets disappear since whatever a couple has is divided. That is no small loss for people in their 50s and may result in replacing furniture or other assets. In addition, a person may lose tax deductions or other ways to shelter money. While he earned half a million in pre-tax dollars, it is much less when you figure in federal tax, social security, state and local taxes. My guess is the net might have been in the $100,000 per year range at best. He was also clearly putting money away for retirement which would reduce available income.

You don't know what he spent on eating out, travel, antiques, gasoline, credit cards, or what he might have given away to his daughter or to other relatives and friends. And if he had $100,000 in the bank, that pretty much says he wasn't liquidating assets to support a walkaway. Why in the world would he leave that $$ there when he didn't need to????????? The whole idea defies what we know about human nature. That sum alone solidifies my view that walkaway should be off the table.

In regard to evidence that he went to Lewisburg: the eyewitness accounts are not from people who knew RG well; missing persons cases are full of these sorts of reports that, in retrospect after a body is found, were clearly wrong. Because I am not privy to real information out of the investigation, I would also be agnostic on the question of RG's call about his plans for the day. Anyone can use someone else's cell phone; we only have the call recipient's account as to what was said. And if RG did make the call, we don't know that he did so willingly or whether he was telling the person he was calling the truth. Anyone could have parked the car; if RG was killed by someone who knew him well, that person could have known RG knew that area and it was a plausible spot to stage the disappearance. The only physical evidence I am aware of is the dog scent; that could be accounted for by RG entering another vehicle voluntarily or under duress.

The smoke scent in the car is actually evidence that RG was either not in the car or not in control of it or its occupants.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

JJ, do you have kids? I was not writing about money when I wrote of "selfishness"; I was referring to how selfish it would be for RG to disappear without a trace and leave a loved one with all the pain, doubt and suffering that would result. What kind of parent would do that to a child? A selfish one. And there is no evidence that RG was that kind of parent.

I did have one, in a way. I would have wanted those who depended on me to be provided for, something RFG did do.

RFG was not part of his daughter's household, for more than a decade prior to his disappearance. She was out of the area for years prior to his disappearance.

Actually, another blooger, Slamdunk, who writes about his family, notes how weak RFG ties were.

While the paperwork might seem trivial, involving only one or two trip to relevant offices, the matter of asking to have a missing loved one declared dead would be agonizing for most people, involving terrible and perhaps guilt-inducing questions: How long should I wait? Am I giving up to soon? What if he turns up and find out I gave up on him? And so on. Even closing a parent's estate in the normal way, when parent has lived out a normal lifespan is a sad and painful activity, as I know, having done it twice. So I would not give RG a pass if he engineered a disappearance and left his daughter to face all of this heartache.

Well, as for running around, LG literally phoned in her "appearance" at the recent hearing.

Yes, there is strain, and I don't minimize it, but at some point LG would likely have to face that. She was younger and he would likely die first.

RG's salary is about what I would expect. While a divorce might have led to splitting assets (and therefore some liquidation), divorce also makes assets disappear since whatever a couple has is divided.

Even assuming that he ended his second marriage broke, and that he put away $100,000 in the 4.25 years after that, there is still in excess of $250,000 net.

We do know about some big ticket expenditures, but they would be less than $100,000 total.

I've had an indication that he had assets after his divorce.

So, did RFG spend $150,000 is 4.25 years, minimum, and have nothing to show for it? Did he buy about 19 Grey Goose martinis, his favorite drink, per day? Every day? For 4.25 years? (In may be substantially more than $150,000.)

There could be explanations, but none are readily apparent. That might be why LE has been looking at his assets again.

I'll handle the witnesses in the next post.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

In regard to evidence that he went to Lewisburg: the eyewitness accounts are not from people who knew RG well; missing persons cases are full of these sorts of reports that, in retrospect after a body is found, were clearly wrong. Because I am not privy to real information out of the investigation, I would also be agnostic on the question of RG's call about his plans for the day. Anyone can use someone else's cell phone; we only have the call recipient's account as to what was said. And if RG did make the call, we don't know that he did so willingly or whether he was telling the person he was calling the truth. Anyone could have parked the car; if RG was killed by someone who knew him well, that person could have known RG knew that area and it was a plausible spot to stage the disappearance. The only physical evidence I am aware of is the dog scent; that could be accounted for by RG entering another vehicle voluntarily or under duress.

The smoke scent in the car is actually evidence that RG was either not in the car or not in control of it or its occupants.

Let me give you some idea of the witnesses. Here is a list of the 4/15 witnesses:

1. PEF, phone call, c. 11:14 AM. Polygraph, call record, location of phone. From the search pattern, it appears to have been made west of or within Centre Hall.

2. Time not released. A witness saw RFG turning in Centre Hall on 192.


Around noon:
3 Ms. Snyder, saw Mr. Gricar and the Mini across from the Packwood House Museum

Afternoon (possibly before 1:30 PM):

4, 5, At least two other witnesses saw Mr. Gricar moving the car across from the Packwood House Museum.

Bellefonte: 4/15/05
3:00 PM:
6. Ms Fenton sees Mr. Gricar in a metallic colored car behind the Centre County Courthouse. (Judge Grine is unsure of the day).

LE does not regard this one as accurate


Lewisburg: 4/15/05 (After 4:00 PM)
4:00 PM-5:00 PM:
7. McKnight’s witness saw Mr. Gricar, driving the Mini, on Route 15 near the Country Cupboard.
Circa 5:30 PM:
8, 9, At least two witnesses saw Mr. Gricar moving the Mini in the parking lot across from the Street of Shops. The Mini was seen parked there later.

10, 11, Two people, Mr. Alvey and another person saw Mr. Gricar in the Street of Shops at about the same time; one saw him with the “Mystery Woman.”

Here is when it was released to the public:

1., PEF, was released early on, but not the location.

2. not released until 2/28/11.

3, 4, 5, were released over the summer of 2005.

6, not disclosed until 5/2006. This one is questionable.

7, not released until 7/2008.

8, 9, not released until 7/2008, only confirmed by LE in 2/2011.

10, 11. released 5/2005.

All of them gave their information to LE within the first week. They did not know of the other witnesses in many cases. They all fit the timeline.

RFG's scent was also detected in the parking lot where the Mini was found; at least two witnesses put him in the same lot.

I would call that well beyond a reasonable doubt. That is just 4/15/05, in Lewisburg.

 

[Kiln Wood]

JJ, do you have kids? I was not writing about money when I wrote of "selfishness"; I was referring to how selfish it would be for RG to disappear without a trace and leave a loved one with all the pain, doubt and suffering that would result. What kind of parent would do that to a child? A selfish one. And there is no evidence that RG was that kind of parent.

While the paperwork might seem trivial, involving only one or two trip to relevant offices, the matter of asking to have a missing loved one declared dead would be agonizing for most people, involving terrible and perhaps guilt-inducing questions: How long should I wait? Am I giving up to soon? What if he turns up and find out I gave up on him? And so on. Even closing a parent's estate in the normal way, when parent has lived out a normal lifespan is a sad and painful activity, as I know, having done it twice. So I would not give RG a pass if he engineered a disappearance and left his daughter to face all of this heartache.

RG's salary is about what I would expect. While a divorce might have led to splitting assets (and therefore some liquidation), divorce also makes assets disappear since whatever a couple has is divided. That is no small loss for people in their 50s and may result in replacing furniture or other assets. In addition, a person may lose tax deductions or other ways to shelter money. While he earned half a million in pre-tax dollars, it is much less when you figure in federal tax, social security, state and local taxes. My guess is the net might have been in the $100,000 per year range at best. He was also clearly putting money away for retirement which would reduce available income.

You don't know what he spent on eating out, travel, antiques, gasoline, credit cards, or what he might have given away to his daughter or to other relatives and friends. And if he had $100,000 in the bank, that pretty much says he wasn't liquidating assets to support a walkaway. Why in the world would he leave that $$ there when he didn't need to????????? The whole idea defies what we know about human nature. That sum alone solidifies my view that walkaway should be off the table.

In regard to evidence that he went to Lewisburg: the eyewitness accounts are not from people who knew RG well; missing persons cases are full of these sorts of reports that, in retrospect after a body is found, were clearly wrong. Because I am not privy to real information out of the investigation, I would also be agnostic on the question of RG's call about his plans for the day. Anyone can use someone else's cell phone; we only have the call recipient's account as to what was said. And if RG did make the call, we don't know that he did so willingly or whether he was telling the person he was calling the truth. Anyone could have parked the car; if RG was killed by someone who knew him well, that person could have known RG knew that area and it was a plausible spot to stage the disappearance. The only physical evidence I am aware of is the dog scent; that could be accounted for by RG entering another vehicle voluntarily or under duress.

The smoke scent in the car is actually evidence that RG was either not in the car or not in control of it or its occupants.

BBM

pittsburghgirl, what would you speculate is the possibility that the smoke scent in the car came from the "Mystery Woman" and that RG was "in control" of the car? I know hardly anything about the "Mystery Woman," but the little I do know indicates she smoked.

Thank you for an interesting post.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

BBM

pittsburghgirl, what would you speculate is the possibility that the smoke scent in the car came from the "Mystery Woman" and that RG was "in control" of the car? I know hardly anything about the "Mystery Woman," but the little I do know indicates she smoked.

Thank you for an interesting post.

Two points on cigarette ash/mystery woman:

1. The ash, which was just a trace, was on the passenger side floor and there was no evidence that the driver was smoking. There was speculation that it, and the scent, could have been left by someone just leaning into the car from the outside.

2. Either witness 10 or 11 was the one who saw the Mystery Woman with RFG. That was sometime after 5:00 PM on 4/15. I'm thinking that he might have had met her for supper (if they really were together).

I know who everybody thought the "Mystery Woman" was, but, as indicated, she supposedly was on Long Island, according to LE. I will say that the person lived in the Harrisburg area, but lived in the general area of Centre County in the early 1990's; she left in the mid 90's.. She would have been recognizable in the Johnstown-Altoona-State College Media Market (Lewisburg is not in that media market). She was a smoker. She definitely knew RFG.

 

[cloudbuster05]

As pointed out, he may not need to work.

Basically, he only had to work for another 8 1/2 so his daughter would not get his pension.

Ironically, if RFG had retired, as announce, in January 2006, and died 2-3 months later, his daughter would not inherit any of it.

So basically what your saying is Ray worked all those years to make sure Lara would get his pension while he staged his own disappearance and walked away without any of it? Are you also saying he had plenty of money to keep him until he died? Im not sure where you are getting those conclusions when LE has stated there was nothing wrong in his finances. Can you show us a link that states what you claim? If you have no link to back up that claim then is it not fair to assume they are your conclusions based on what you think he should of had?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

So basically what your saying is Ray worked all those years to make sure Lara would get his pension while he staged his own disappearance and walked away without any of it?

No, I'm saying that was the effect. My understanding is, if he died in 2006, after he retired, no one would get that pension. There were also tax befefits. Inheritances under a certain amount (it's more than $1,000,000) are not subject to income taxes. Part of RFG's pension would be.

Are you also saying he had plenty of money to keep him until he died?

I'm saying maybe.

Im not sure where you are getting those conclusions when LE has stated there was nothing wrong in his finances.

The only statement from LE I've seen is that there was no money unaccounted for in the 2 1/2 prior to his disappearance. The assents were liquidated around 2000, as would be expected in a divorce.

Can you show us a link that states what you claim? If you have no link to back up that claim then is it not fair to assume they are your conclusions based on what you think he should of had?

The material is from The Pennsylvania Manual for 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005. I went to library and looked it up.

In terms of the time frame:

Over the last 2 1/2 years, bank records show Gricar withdrew about $16,000 in cash from automatic teller machines. That's not unusual, though, Zaccagni said. Often, Gricar was taking out money while he and Fornicola were on vacation. But, it could also indicate that he was setting money aside.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05229/555106-85.stm#ixzz1Zsjq7oBM

From Tony Gricar:


"He was making a fair amount of money; but, at least from a forensic accounting standpoint, the thought is there that there should have been more cash," he said. "But, for somebody from his generation, which [preferred to] deal in cash, what is the appropriate amount that should be sitting in an account?"

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/25/case-of-missing-pa-district-attorney-ray-gricar-baffles-police/

SPM said:

They’re also taking a more broad and deep look at his finances, conducting more interviews, and keeping up with regular correspondence from concerned community members, she said.

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2010/10/...mystery.html#Comments_Container#ixzz1Zsp3vQCA

Every time I look at the financial situation, it does not add up. Apparently, I'm not the only one.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

A decent nursing home could run $9,000 per year, minimum. A heart attack with no insurance, 10 days in intensive care? Half a million, easy. NO sane person in his 60s would set up a life like that.

I know nothing about RG's emotional life, other that J. Karen Arnold's assertion that staff was told to put his daughter through at any time she called. Adults don't usually live with adult children, and fathers often have less face time with kids when divorce has been involved. That does NOT mean RG would elect never to see his daughter again.

And there is a big difference between dealing with the death of a parent by natural causes or old age and having that parent declared dead and initiating that process. It's the thing that makes many adult suicides so selfish--either the inability to imagine the scars on the children left behind or the unbelievable indifference to that damage. RG as a walkaway would be a cold, uncaring, selfish and clueless individual. I am still waiting for the first person who
knew him well in life to describe him that way.

As for the money, it is easy for people who like to travel, shop and eat out to spend lots of money. No one knows, for example, how much I spend on a gym membership, a trainer, my hairdresser, etc. If he had $100,000 in the bank and a pension, my guess is that he did what
most of us do--spent money and didn't think much about it. He may have supported charities or given money away that no one knows about. Certainly, if he bought PF a mini-Cooper, he was a generous guy. No one can reconstruct what all he did because we all use debit cards and the money just flies out of the account...He may also have incurred debt during divorce or been involved in paying for his daughter's education or helping her out as she got launched into adult
life. Most of us with grown children are good for wedding expenses, down payments on the first home, etc., even if we don't make a public deal out of that. And some of that is best done in cash for tax reasons.

If LE didn't find anything amiss financially, and the savings and pension amounts look healthy (how many of us have $100,000 in the bank?), then I have yet to see anything to counter the
common sense arguments against walkaway: 1. He loved his daughter. 2. He was retiring and so would not walk away from his life savings. 3. Like all parents, he could provide for his daughter through estate planning, even ifnhe intended to have little contact with her. 4. He could effectively walk away with all his money and the relationships he wished to keep intact, just by moving to Florida or Belize or Paris, once he retired. 5. He gains nothing by walking away and loses everything, including access to Social Security and Medicare. 6. If he wanted to
walkaway, it would have been easy to take the $100,000 at least and wire it into a numbered account somewhere. 7. If he was running away from someone or something, why did he leave his significant other and daughter exposed to potential harm? There just is nothing to gain
from walking away and everything to lose.

My guess is that he was killed by someone who knew him well, who tried to stage the disappearance as an assault/kidnapping by a criminal. Rg may have learned something in the last week of his life that troubled him involving this person, and that person killed him to cover it up. He might have gone to Lewisburg to meet that person or to get information about that person or that person could have learned about the trip and seen it as an opportunity. I think RG was killed the same way most people are murdered --by someone they know who is angry, jealous, or sees them as an obstacle.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

A decent nursing home could run $9,000 per year, minimum. A heart attack with no insurance, 10 days in intensive care? Half a million, easy. NO sane person in his 60s would set up a life like that.

I know nothing about RG's emotional life, other that J. Karen Arnold's assertion that staff was told to put his daughter through at any time she called. Adults don't usually live with adult children, and fathers often have less face time with kids when divorce has been involved. That does NOT mean RG would elect never to see his daughter again.

RFG was not living with his young pre-teen daughter either. He certainly was not part of her daily life while she was living 2000 miles away.

And there is a big difference between dealing with the death of a parent by natural causes or old age and having that parent declared dead and initiating that process. It's the thing that makes many adult suicides so selfish--either the inability to imagine the scars on the children left behind or the unbelievable indifference to that damage. RG as a walkaway would be a cold, uncaring, selfish and clueless individual. I am still waiting for the first person who
knew him well in life to describe him that way.

There is a difference. You don't have to fly back for hospital visits or a funeral. Sorry, but I don't buy your "cold, uncaring, selfish and clueless" characterization. Because you feel that way does not mean that RFG did. I would also point out that, whatever happened, RFG did provide for daughter (and girlfriend).

As for what others say, his closest friend thinks he walked away.

As for the money, it is easy for people who like to travel, shop and eat out to spend lots of money.

Except the people that knew him could not account for any expendatures and described him as "frugal." His last major charitable contribution was 1997. His political contributions were negligible, I believe less than $500 over the last 4 1/2 years prior to his disappearance.

If LE didn't find anything amiss financially, and the savings and pension amounts look healthy (how many of us have $100,000 in the bank?), then I have yet to see anything to counter the
common sense arguments against walkaway:

False. You have read the linked comments. LE has been digging more deeply into his finances.

1. He loved his daughter.

And he saw that she was financially well off.

2. He was retiring and so would not walk away from his life savings.

He may have walked away to substantial assets.

3. Like all parents, he could provide for his daughter through estate planning, even ifnhe intended to have little contact with her.

4. He could effectively walk away with all his money and the relationships he wished to keep intact, just by moving to Florida or Belize or Paris, once he retired. 5. He gains nothing by walking away and loses everything, including access to Social Security and Medicare.

As noted, there was a substantial financial benefit to his daughter if he "died," legally, before getting his pension.

6. If he wanted to
walkaway, it would have been easy to take the $100,000 at least and wire it into a numbered account somewhere.

The wire transfer would be traceable.

7. If he was running away from someone or something, why did he leave his significant other and daughter exposed to potential harm?

Why would they be in danger; they don't know where he is.

My guess is that he was killed by someone who knew him well, who tried to stage the disappearance as an assault/kidnapping by a criminal. Rg may have learned something in the last week of his life that troubled him involving this person, and that person killed him to cover it up.

RFG was acting strangely in the month before he disappeared. Unfocused on the future.

Let's be very blunt. When ever anyone looks at RFG's financial situation, the answer is the same, it does not add up. Now, I'll be the first to admit that there could another explanation, but a solid factual one is not readily apparent.

 

[cloudbuster05]

JJ you say his finances don't add up but yet that is based on your own conclusions on how you got to your estimates as you did here.
http://www.centredaily.com/2009/04/06/2396744/income-and-assets.html
You used Joe as a example but Joe is not Ray. Ray had a daughter in college that also had a hobby with horses (expensive). A daughter that held his account jointly. What did she spend year to year? Tony (the nephew) had told us that wife number 2 was a bad divorce. How much and what did she get? We don't know that. Rays best friend SS said that Ray didn't invest that it was like Chinese language to Ray. Ray also liked to antique as a hobby and he liked photography so Im sure they both cost money. Then there was Lara's wedding upcoming and we don't know how much went toward that. A wedding dress alone can cost 10 grand or more. Then their is his girlfriend who he took on trips to Vermont yearly. He also paid off her mortgage and helped with costs of living. We don't know what gifts he bought her or furniture, we only know about the mini cooper. We don't know if she was in debt and if Ray helped her out. Considering the costs of everything Im surprised he still had $100,000 in the bank. He also had 3 nephews who he might of helped out with, but yet we don't know that. We don't know that is the real point. We can guesstimate but truthfully we don't know anything about how Ray spent his money.

 

[Kiln Wood]

In Post No. 375 there appears the name "J. Karen Arnold." Even though I've read all the posts on all the RFG threads--awhile ago--I don't remember reading that name before.

Would someone please enlighten me as to who Ms. Arnold is and how she figures in RFG's disappearance (if she does).

Thank you.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

In Post No. 375 there appears the name "J. Karen Arnold." Even though I've read all the posts on all the RFG threads--awhile ago--I don't remember reading that name before.

Would someone please enlighten me as to who Ms. Arnold is and how she figures in RFG's disappearance (if she does).

Thank you.

Generally abbreviated as JKA.

She was an Assistant District Attorney in the Centre County District Attorney's Office (1988-2006). In 2005, she ran for DA, got the Democratic nomination, but lost the election to Michael T. Madeira (MTM), the Republican. Madeira, not surprisingly, chose not retain her.

Ran again in 2009, and came in third in the Democratic primary, with less than 20% of the vote. Endorsed MTM over the Democratic candidate, Stacy Parks Miller (SPM). MTM lost to SPM 64% to 35%, carrying only 4 of the 89 election districts and actually lost his home precinct.

She wrote Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, on-line, where she mentioned me more than RFG. I credit her with my rise to prominence in the Gricar case; I said once "Basically, Ms. Arnold made me." I had used her line, “All amazing knowledge for a disabled guy living in Philly,” in my signature for over a year.

That's the thumbnail.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

JJ you say his finances don't add up but yet that is based on your own conclusions on how you got to your estimates as you did here.
http://www.centredaily.com/2009/04/06/2396744/income-and-assets.html
You used Joe as a example but Joe is not Ray. Ray had a daughter in college that also had a hobby with horses (expensive). A daughter that held his account jointly. What did she spend year to year? Tony (the nephew) had told us that wife number 2 was a bad divorce. How much and what did she get? We don't know that. Rays best friend SS said that Ray didn't invest that it was like Chinese language to Ray. Ray also liked to antique as a hobby and he liked photography so Im sure they both cost money. Then there was Lara's wedding upcoming and we don't know how much went toward that. A wedding dress alone can cost 10 grand or more. Then their is his girlfriend who he took on trips to Vermont yearly. He also paid off her mortgage and helped with costs of living. We don't know what gifts he bought her or furniture, we only know about the mini cooper. We don't know if she was in debt and if Ray helped her out. Considering the costs of everything Im surprised he still had $100,000 in the bank. He also had 3 nephews who he might of helped out with, but yet we don't know that. We don't know that is the real point. We can guesstimate but truthfully we don't know anything about how Ray spent his money.

CD, possibly from the time RFG moved to Centre County, Lara's mother, Barbara Gray (BG), was probably earning more.

BG is a full professor at Penn State's Smeal College (a subdivision of Penn State, the business college). In 2002, when RFG was making $120,000, the average professor was making $141,000. http://www.senate.psu.edu/agenda/apr27-04agn/salarytables042704.pdf BG had been there for more than 20 years, so she might have been well above that average. She also did business consulting. She was the custodial parent, and the courts usually base any support on income. While RFG likely contributed to Lara's expenses, he probably contributed a smaller amount than BG. There was never any suggestion that BG was a "deadbeat mom."

Further, even college expenses would not account for the difference. I few months ago, I looked at horse boarding and lessons in Centre County; that was less than $12,000 a year. You have to remember that RFG would not be paying for all of it, only a percentage.

LG would have to maintain a lavish, Paris Hilton-like, lifestyle to account for this. From what I've heard, she didn't.

RFG didn't spend a huge amount of money on PEF either.

Sorry, but like most everyone close to RFG/the investigation is indicating, there is a money problem. As Steve Sloane said, "Wow. He should have had more money than that, I would think. He wasn't into investing. He wasn't very into 401(k)s or IRAs."

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2006/05/13/3802/missed-leads.html#ixzz1a6W8Ly4B

I think it is time to acknowledge the possibility that there are substantial unaccounted for assets.